


Toothcup Tuesday

by 10Blue10



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Drabbles, Hiccstrid (fake dating), Innuendo, M/M, Minor NSFW, Toothcup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:26:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 15,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29841492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/10Blue10/pseuds/10Blue10
Summary: Over on tumblr I started a series called ‘Toothcup Tuesday’, where every Tuesday I post a short mini fic about Hiccup and Toothless being romantic and adorable together. I’ve decided to combine them all into a multi chapter series on here, unedited. Partly to get more direct feedback and partly out of boredom.
Relationships: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III/Toothless
Comments: 12
Kudos: 31





	1. Concentrating

Toothless lay on his slab, purring softly in contentment. Through lidded eyes he gazed at Hiccup, who was seated at the desk across the room. His mate’s brow was furrowed in concentration. Toothless loved the face Hiccup made when he was focused; it was adorable. The problem, of course, was what that face could mean. At last, Hiccup’s expression smoothed out, and he grinned.

“Hey, bud, check it out” he told Toothless, holding up the sheet of parchment he’d been sketching on. “You know how when I use the wing suit, I can only glide?” Hiccup asked. Toothless suddenly didn’t like where this was going. “And I know that warm air is better for climbing than cold air; that’s why you use thermals. So there’s these canisters full of Zippleback gas on my back” -

*No* Toothless declared bluntly. If he knew one thing for certain, it was that the words ‘flight suit’ and ‘Zippleback gas’ did and should not go together.

Hiccup pressed on regardless. “It’ll work, Toothless, trust me. I’ll ignite the gas and whoosh! I’ll be soaring like a...well, a dragon. At least, I will once I’ve, y’know, built it” he said sheepishly. “I was thinking of calling it a jet pack.”

Eyes narrowed, Toothless retorted *More like death trap. You not-need any Twin-Head gas to fly. You already have wings.* He raised one of his own.

“Those are your wings, bud” his mate replied, “and I know you want to share them. I love you for that. I just...really want to fly beside you, as - as equals.”

*We  are equal* the dragon insisted, padding over to nuzzle his partner. *Not-same, different, but still equal. I want-share my wings with you. I not-want you hurt by Twin-Head gas exploding when stuck to your back* he grumbled. That was what would happen with this ‘jet pack’ thing, Toothless knew it. Oh, great. Now Hiccup was pouting. *Do you  _want_ to be blown up?* he demanded.

“No” said Hiccup, mumbling “but the jet pack would’ve been really cool...” He was clearly disappointed at not getting the chance to build his latest project.

Toothless sighed. *You make sure jet pack thing works  _before_ you put it on* he insisted. Hiccup beamed and hugged him tightly, than rushed out to get to the forge. He followed, shaking his head. The things he put up with for his human. 


	2. Beautiful

It was a pleasant spring day, with hardly a cloud in the sky. Hiccup and Toothless were relaxing in the cove after a morning of glorious flying. Having sated his hunger by devouring a large pile of fish, Toothless curled up to have a nap in the sun. Hiccup leaned back against a rock and began to sketch him.

He couldn’t stop smiling, or just gazing at Toothless fondly. His mate was so handsome, all smooth muscular curves and those gorgeous dapples. It was Hiccup’s not so secret and admittedly biased opinion that Toothless was the most beautiful dragon on Berk. He felt no shame in believing that, either. Hisbeloved partner wasn’t just beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well.

Toothless stretched and yawned like a huge scaly cat, then rolled over onto his back. Hiccup giggled, and abandoned his sketch in favour of going over and draping himself over that smooth warm chest. Then Toothless started purring.

Hiccup nuzzled the soft skin of Toothless’ throat and pressed a kiss to it. “I love you so much” he murmured. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you, bud.”

*I not-know either* Toothless replied. *Not-know what I did to deserve  you . Know what you did for me. You spared me and saved me, let me fly again.*

“I’m the reason you couldn’t fly in the first place” Hiccup retorted, but his tone was guilt ridden. He could feel Toothless’ heart thumping steadily beneath him, and shuddered at the thought of what he’d almost done. “You forgave me.”

The black dragon crooned. *Yes. Forgive you. Trust you. Love you, so much* he replied. *Maybe I not-have to deserve you, and you not-have to deserve me.*

Of the two of them, Toothless had always been the more sensible. “You’re right, bud” Hiccup agreed fondly. “What matters is that we have each other.”


	3. Needed

Toothless loved flying with Hiccup. Sharing the sky, racing the wind...it was glorious. There was just one problem. Toothless loved flying with Hiccup.

Hiccup loved to fly on his own.

Well, glide anyway. Toothless had lost count of how many times his partner had leapt from his back in midair. It wasn’t such a bad thing. It made Hiccup happy, and that was what mattered, right? So he simply ignored the pang in his heart whenever they flew like that, together but separate instead of as one.

Now though, his indomitable little mate had found a way to give himself lift...or so Hiccup claimed. It wasn’t that Toothless didn’t like the idea of Hiccup being able to fly like the dragon he truly was, but this ‘jet pack’ stuff seemed far too dangerous. Twin-Head gas  _ exploded _ . Hiccup was still determined to try it out.

“Relax, bud” he reassured the Night Fury; two words that tended to anticipate disaster. “We’ve done plenty of tests on the ground, and I finally got the gas to expel in a controlled way from the nozzles. Besides, you’re wearing an auto-tail so you can follow me no matter what happens.” Hiccup was confident as ever.

Naturally, it all went wrong. First the weight of the jet pack made him struggle to glide. Then one of the nozzles jammed, throwing his ascent off balance. Finally it started working, but only when he was upside down, and suddenly heading towards the ocean at alarming speeds. He also couldn’t turn it off.

Hiccup kept his head enough to unbuckle the rig and throw it off, narrowly avoiding being burned by the flames. Toothless swept in to catch him as always, and they watched as the ill-fated jet pack tumbled down to crash into the sea. “Okay...that didn’t work” he admitted sheepishly. “Next time I’ll try” -

*No* Toothless growled at him. *No next time. No-more try. Hiccup must-stop.*

“Inventing means taking a few risks! Besides, it’ll be worth it once I figure out”-

Toothless gave a frustrated roar and flew to a small island nearby. Upon landing, he shook Hiccup off his back and spun to face his partner. *You want-be like dragon, because you are dragon-soul. You want-fly. I share my wings with you. We fly together. That not-enough for you. You make own wings. Then you sort-of fly, and I sort-of-fly, but  we not-fly. Toothless want fly  _ with _ Hiccup.*

“I...I didn’t...you never said anything” Hiccup tried to protest. It sounded hollow.

*Gliding makes you happy. I not-want to stop that* Toothless admitted, pawing at the ground. *When just gliding, I can-keep you safe. This time...I almost could-not. I want you to-be happy, but I not-want you hurt* he whimpered.

Feeling like an absolute jerk, Hiccup beckoned Toothless closer and pressed their foreheads together. “I’m sorry, bud. I didn’t mean to upset you, I just...I guess I got carried away. No more jet packs, I promise.” Toothless purred. He then admitted, “I never really needed the jet pack, anyway. I just need you.” 


	4. Explanations

Hiccup loved Toothless because, when he’d been at the mercy of this huge, deadly Night Fury...Toothless had spared him, and gone on to save his life. 

Before he had been an outcast amongst his people; Toothless was the first person to know and believe in the real him. With his dragon, he wasn’t ‘Hiccup the Useless’ or a runt, he didn’t have to be a ‘strong, manly Viking’ or the Pride of Berk. He could just be himself, without any judgements or expectations.

Toothless didn’t just accept him, either; he’d taught Hiccup about himself. If not for Toothless, he would never have realised how much he loved flying, or how much more satisfying it was to invent things to help rather than harm. He had learned confidence and self-respect from Toothless, who’d helped him understand that his worth did not depend on whether others approved of him.

Hiccup loved how loyal Toothless was to him, and how playful, and how affectionate. He loved his dragon’s adorable wiggles and gummy smiles and even the tongue baths, deep down. He loved Toothless’ beautiful markings and expressive body language. Hiccup loved how much Toothless loved him.

As for making love, sure there was (really) big size difference, but half the fun was figuring out ways around it. Toothless was always so gentle with him. He knew the Night Fury was bigger and stronger and could hurt him....but he also had perfect trust that Toothless never would. That juxtaposition was delicious.

Besides, no human could have a tongue as amazing as Toothless’ anyway.  


* * *

Toothless loved Hiccup because, when he had been at the mercy of this small, skinny fledgling...Hiccup had spared him, and gone on to restore his flight. 

Before, he had been a slave to the Red Death - Hiccup had set him free and given him a family. With his human, Toothless wasn’t ’the offspring of lightning and death’, or a beast. He didn’t have to be a feared monster or the Queen of the Nest. Hiccup didn’t tell him it was ‘undignified’ to chase spots of light, or roll in silly grass, or give over-enthusiastic tongue baths to his beloved rider. 

He had learned so much from Hiccup. How life didn’t always have to be kill or be killed; how mercy, compassion and curiosity could save you instead of doom you. Together, he and Hiccup had learned all kinds of interesting new flying tricks, that Toothless doubted he would have thought of on his own.

Toothless loved how inventive Hiccup was, how brave, and how caring. He just wished his human had a better sense of self-preservation. He loved his human’s willingness to help any dragon, no matter what. He loved Hiccup’s mop of hair and cute smile and freckles and those wonderful hands that gave scratches and belly rubs whenever Toothless wanted. Well, almost whenever.

He laughed when other dragons asked why he did not want a partner he could go on mating flights with. He and Hiccup went on those all the time; they even mated afterwards sometimes. His human was fragile, and Toothless was always careful not to hurt him by mistake, but it had never not felt amazing.

Besides, no dragon could have paws as dexterous as Hiccup’s, anyway. 


	5. Snuggles

Winters on Berk lasted most of the year. They were long and dark and extremely cold. This one was particularly frigid; a raging snowstorm had struck the island, and when everyone woke up in the morning, they would have to dig and melt paths between their houses. It was agreed there had never been a better time of year to have dragons, living furnaces that they were, around.

Despite the brutal weather outside, Hiccup didn’t need to wear furs, or indeed any clothes at all. Fabric would only make him get too hot, given that he was lounging in Toothless’ wings. He couldn’t think of anywhere he’d rather be - on any night, but especially one like this - than curled up against his lover’s chest.

They weren’t quite asleep, just dozing. The wind howled outside. “Wouldn’t wanna be flying in that, eh bud?” Hiccup murmured. Toothless gave a tired grunt of acknowledgment. “Even if we did, we couldn’t. We’d get in the way of Odin’s Hunt. Trust me, that wouldn’t be a good idea” he assured the dragon.

Toothless crooned inquisitively. *Whose hunt?* he asked, despite his tiredness.

“Odin. You know, the King of the Gods? He leads the einherjar - his warriors of Valhalla - through the sky in winter on an eternal hunt for a quarry they can never catch. To train for Ragnarok when they fight at the end of the world” Hiccup explained. “Their charge through the sky is what the sound of wind is.” 

A green eye cracked open and gave him a dubious look. *Wind make wind sounds* Toothless protested, *and why hunt if not-can catch prey?*

“Yeah, but what makes the wind?” Hiccup retorted. “And they don’t have a choice. It’s what they do, in the afterlife. That and feasting, drinking mead...you know, in one story I’ve heard, the hunt is accompanied by the ghosts of Night Furies, who fly alongside the warriors and fill the air with their terrible shrieks.”

Just then, they heard a particularly loud high pitched wail outside. Hiccup jumped. Toothless chuckled. *Is just wind* he said, *not ghost dragons.*

“Okay, sure, but just in case it is ghost dragons...you’ll protect me, right?” Hiccup checked. Black wings furled tighter around him in answer, and he smiled. “I knew I could count on you. Goodnight, Toothless” he murmured.

The dragon gave a croon and nuzzled him gently. *Goodnight, Hiccup.* 


	6. Courting

When dragons courted each other, they would offer their prospective mates nuptial gifts. These might be particularly good or rare prey, or an interesting object they had found (or stolen, if it was man-made). If their desired felt the same way, then the gift would be accepted and the favour returned.Then after a few exchanges, they would consummate and become a mated pair.

So in the early days of their relationship, Toothless had courted Hiccup the only way he knew how. The tricky part was figuring out what his desired would like. First he caught small but agile prey, like birds and rabbits, because Hiccup was small too. Hiccup took the furred prey, and sometimes the birds...only to give them to other humans. So he accepted the gifts...and then rejected them?

Humans were confusing. When he realised that prey was no good, Toothless tried something else. He knew his human liked metal, so he offered a bowl with nice patterns on it. Hiccup admired the bowl, much to his delight, but when someone else insisted it was actually theirs, his gift was given away  again .

Soon, the other dragons noticed his failed attempts. *Why you give your rider things?* Hookfang demanded. *Humans just want us for flying and fighting.* 

*Maybe  your human does* Toothless retorted. *Mine wants me for love and protection. Same with Stormfly and Meatlug, they give their riders love too.*

Meatlug insisted *that true, but Hookfang love Snotlout, just not show it much.*

Of course, then the Fire-Scale had to ruin it by declaring *not-so! Hookfang likes Snotlout, but not love. Love only for dams and mates. I am not Snotlout’s dam, and Snotlout is not my mate. So not-love, only like* he explained. This started an argument that Toothless quickly tired of. He roared to shut them up.

*Speaking of mates, is odd, Toothless. You offer gifts to your rider, almost like courting gifts* Stormfly observed. He tried not to cringe. She tilted her head curiously and asked *you do that to practice for when you find a female?*

Relieved, Toothless agreed, *yes, for practice. But...also want-give Hiccup nice gift, as a thank you. Not-know what. Humans hard to give gifts too* he sighed.

*Your human likes dragon things, yes? You could give him your shed scales* Stormfly suggested. This was a great idea, and Toothless didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it sooner. The next time he and Hiccup were alone together, in their cove no less, he scraped off a bunch of loose scales, gathered them up and presented them, with all the care he could muster, to his beloved rider.

At first Hiccup just stared at the scales. Toothless nearly slumped in despair, fearing his gift would be rejected once more. “For me?” Hiccup asked, as if he wasn’t sure, and picked the scales up. Toothless’ heart leapt. “Thanks, bud” Hiccup smiled, putting the scales in his bag. “That’s really thoughtful of you.”

He accepted it! Toothless was so overjoyed that he pranced about, leaping and warbling in excitement. Hiccup chuckled. “Well, someone’s happy!”

This was it. He had to ask now, or Hiccup would never get the message. *Toothless love Hiccup* he said, carefully, so that his human understood.

“Aww, bud, I love you too” Hiccup replied, but he still didn’t know the truth.

*Love like mate* said Toothless. *Toothless love Hiccup. Want-court Hiccup.*

When he managed to translate, Hiccup’s jaw dropped. “You...you’re in love with me?” he asked. Toothless nodded eagerly. A thousand doubts and questions sprang to mind, but the one thing Hiccup knew for certain was that saying no would break his dragons heart. Besides...he might feel the same way, he’d just never dreamed... “O-okay. Let’s...let’s see where this goes.” 


	7. Toothless’ Plan

Toothless wanted to do two things, and two things only. Fly with his beloved, and cuddle. Preferably, but not necessarily in that order. The only issue with this plan was that Hiccup was busy working in the forge. “Sorry, bud. I wanna go flying too, but I promised Gobber I’d help out today” he apologised. “But if you wanna help out and get it done faster, I wouldn’t complain” he added.

The dragon was agreeable to this plan, and his fire breath was far superior to any human built forge anyway. So together they fixed a load of metal things that had been broken for reasons Toothless didn’t know or care about. Then, at last, Gobber said that he’d finish off the last of it and they could both go.

It was twilight, Toothless’ favourite time to go flying. Hiccup vaulted into the saddle and he took off, spiralling upwards with all haste. They soared over Berk together, admiring the colours of the sunset, and Toothless flew up above the clouds where it was cool and dark. The stars twinkled above their heads.

Presently Hiccup murmured, “this is nice. I’m kind of tired, though.” No sooner had he spoken than Toothless obligingly returned to their house. “You didn’t have to stop on my account” he said, but dismounted nonetheless. A sharp pain flared in his stump when he put weight on the prosthetic, and he winced.

Of course his overprotective dragon with excellent hearing would pick up on that noise. *Hiccup, are you hurt?* asked Toothless, nosing at him anxiously.

“It’s just my - my leg’s a bit sore, it’s nothing” he insisted, trying to walk up to the front door. One step and he stumbled. Toothless caught his rider and then tossed Hiccup onto his back, carrying him up to the house. They managed to get inside; then he carried Hiccup to his room and helped him onto the bed.

Finally, Toothless attempted to pull off the peg leg as well. “I can do that bit myself” Hiccup insisted, removing it with more care. All that time standing in the forge and sweating had taken its toll; his stump was red and raw. “Eugh. Stupid leg” he muttered irritably. “Um, Toothless, do you think you could...?”

*Not have-to ask* Toothless purred. He began to gently lick Hiccup’s sore skin, because Night Furies had healing saliva. *You need to lie down, rest* he said.

“Okay sure, but I can’t go to bed yet. We haven’t even had dinner.”

*Can-have dinner in bed.*

“Ha, yeah, try telling my dad that.”

*Toothless will. You not-can walk.*

Hiccup grinned at him. “You can always carry me. I could get used to that.”

Rolling his eyes, Toothless retorted *I carry you when you not-can walk and when we fly. Not-carry you when you  can walk, lazy* he snorted, amused. He then recalled his other plan, to cuddle, and this was the perfect opportunity.

“What are you...? There isn’t room!” Hiccup protested, as Toothless scrambled up to lie on the bed with him. The dragons wings and tail were hanging off. He sniggered and teased, “Aww. Do you want a snuggle, you big baby?” The only reply was a contented purr. “If I doze off and can’t sleep later tonight, that’s on you” Hiccup warned. That earned a dismissive huff. “Okay, fine. Snuggles it is.” 


	8. Special Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Innuendo Warning

It was a beautiful day on Dragon’s Edge. Hiccup and his friends were out in the arena grooming their dragons, who were happy to bask in the attention. Astrid was being very fastidious, knowing how much pride Stormfly took in her appearance. Fishlegs was pampering Meatlug. Snotlout was trying and failing to clean between Hookfang’s claws. The twins were splashing each other.

Hiccup was scratching Toothless in the places he liked best. Just innocently dragging his nails under his dragons’ jaw, and behind the ear flaps, to make Toothless purr. Nothing out of the ordinary. He scrubbed between Toothless’ shoulders where the saddle went, soon to be freshly oiled so it wouldn’t chafe.

Toothless wiggled and rolled over, wanting a belly rub more than a massage. A grin spread across Hiccup’s face as he obliged, rubbing his hands in circles over the Fury’s underside. It was so smooth, like the softest vellum, and had to stay that way for them to cut through the air. Hence the regular grooming.

He didn’t want to use the brush though. It’s bristles were too stiff, it wouldn’t be comfortable for Toothless at all. So he ran his palms and fingertips along his dragons hide, to see if the blisters from forge work would catch on any loose scales. Toothless was purring up a storm, stretching with his tongue hanging out. Unbeknownst to Hiccup that wasn’t the only inner body part exposed.

Fishlegs glanced over at them. His eyes widened and he quickly looked away, trying to pretend he hadn’t seen...maybe he hadn’t seen that, it was probably a trick of the light, wasn’t it? He didn’t want to look again and check, though...

Tuffnut noticed Fishlegs acting oddly and looked in the same direction. Then he elbowed Ruffnut, pointing it out to her as well. They both grinned sinisterly. “Looks like Toothless is really enjoying himself” Ruff commented. Astrid and Snotlout turned to see what was going on, only to quickly avert their eyes.

Hiccup looked up at everyone, his brow furrowed slightly. “Um, I guess. He always likes it when I rub his belly” he replied. What was the big deal here?

“Oh, we bet he does” smirked Tuff. “Just can’t keep your hands off him, eh?”

“Yessiree, nothing like a good belly rub after a long, hard day” added Ruffnut. There was something about the way she said it that had Fishlegs blushing.

“Am - am I missing something here?” Hiccup inquired. “Cos I really don’t get it.”

Snotlout snapped. “Oh for the love of Freyr, would you two get a room? Nobody wants to see that!” he exclaimed, pointing at Toothless’ hindquarters.

Frowning, Hiccup looked over his shoulder and realised... “Oh. Oh, come on, that - that could happen to anyone! Er, any guy, that is. He’s just very relaxed. Don’t tease him about it.” Toothless rolled back to his feet. “There, see, we’re just, uh, gonna go and - and cool off. In the sea. With a dip. See you later” he rambled, before scrambling into the saddle. In moments they were airborne.

Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief. “I think you were enjoying that belly rub a little too much, eh bud.” Toothless chortled. “D’you think they suspect anything?”

*What they suspect? That Hiccup make Toothless _relaxed_ on purpose?*

“I have no idea what you’re talking about” Hiccup countered. They both grinned at each other. Toothless flew up towards the clouds, as high as they could go. Hiccup un-clipped his carabiners. They both plummeted through the air, spiralling around each other and coming back together at the last minute.

He really hadn’t been trying to do _that_. If he had, he wouldn’t have stopped. 


	9. First Date

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU (part one)

Hiccup chained his bike to the post and checked himself over one last time. Shirt tucked in, hair combed, breath smelled okay. His palms were sweating. It was okay, that was normal, he was just nervous. He always got nervous on dates. Especially blind dates that he kept being set up on by Astrid Hofferson.

“You’ll like this one” she’d told him confidently. “You’ve got a lot in common.”

So with some - actually quite a lot of - trepidation, Hiccup walked down the steps into the cove. His mystery date had good taste in locations, at least; the cove was beautiful, especially by moonlight. It was also deserted. Hiccup reached the last step and looked around, anxiously wondering if this was really all just a prank. Not by Astrid, she wouldn’t do that, but by his absent date.

I am on time, right? he asked himself, checking his watch. He wasn’t too early or too late...he’d just have to sit tight and hope that the other guy turned up.

After about fifteen minutes, Hiccup heard the rush of wings overhead, but when he looked up all he saw was a yellow blur. Then a black dragon dropped out of the sky in front of him, and he jumped out of his skin. “Sorry” the dragon warbled apologetically. “I didn’t mean to startle you. You must be my date.”

He nodded mutely. This wasn’t just any dragon, this was  Fury,  the one and only Nightwing, winner of races, the most popular person with scales in Berkston. At last it clicked in Hiccup’s brain. “Y-you’re my date?” he asked. Fury’s ear flaps went down slightly. “Wait, no, I didn’t mean it like that, sorry. I just didn’t - I mean I wasn’t expecting you to - like, you’re  you , and I’m...me.”

The Nightwing tilted his head to the side. “It’s nice to meet you, Me” he joked. “My name’s Toothless, though, not You. Or ‘Fury’...that’s just my racing name.”

Remembering to pick his jaw up off the ground, the young man replied, “it’s, uh, nice to meet you too. My name’s Hiccup Haddock” he introduced himself properly. “So, um, my friend said she left a picnic basket or something here?”

Toothless replied, “I can find it.” He began to sniff around, and soon located the basket behind some boulders. Hiccup spread out a blanket to sit on and unwrapped the food; chicken and mayo sandwiches for him, and cooked cod for the dragon. There was even a bottle of blackcurrant juice in place of wine.

He poured them both a glass; Toothless’ was bigger, for obvious reasons. “Sorry it’s not real wine. I don’t really drink, you see” he explained awkwardly.

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t drink either” Toothless admitted, “never liked the taste. Besides, racing and alcohol don’t mix” he shrugged, wings fluttering. “So...you’re probably wondering why everyone calls me ‘Fury’ if my real name is Toothless. My manager thinks ‘Fury’ is more dignified...and marketable.”

Hiccup blushed, and sheepishly confessed “um, actually, I was wondering why your name is..uh, not that it isn’t a good name, it’s just that you don’t look like you don’t have...teeth.”  _Way to be eloquent, you moron_ he berated himself.

To his surprise, not to mention relief, Toothless just chuckled. “Oh, that. No, I do have teeth, but...it’ll be easier to show you.” He opened his jaws to reveal cone shaped fangs, and then retracted them, so that only the gums were visible.

“ Oh . I get it now.” Hiccup smiled. “That’s actually pretty cool. I didn’t know you could do that” he remarked. “Um, that Nightwings could do that, I mean.”

So for a while they ate and talked about all the usual things; their parents, their jobs, and how their friends (Astrid and Stormfly respectively) had conspired to set them up on this date. Hiccup found he was really enjoying himself. Toothless was clever and funny and polite... enough to humour Hiccup by staying on this date, at least. It wasn’t like Hiccup was good enough for him.

When the food was finished, Toothless asked, “what do you wanna do now?”

“Oh, um, I don’t mind. We could maybe...go for a walk, or something?” Hiccup suggested. The dragon raised an eyebrow - well, sort of - and then his wings. “Right. Yeah. You can fly, and I have a bike anyway so...” Hiccup trailed off.

Toothless crooned reassuringly. “You wanna see Berkston from the air?” he asked, crouching slightly to let Hiccup climb onto his shoulders. “It’s okay. I won’t drop you, promise.” One didn’t simply ride a dragon, so Hiccup’s heart leapt in his chest as he carefully hoisted himself up and held onto the hi-viz jacket Toothless was wearing. “You ready?” He swallowed hard and nodded.

His stomach felt like it had been left behind as Toothless launched into the air, his powerful wings taking them higher still... At last the Nightwing levelled out, and Hiccup dared to actually look. The wind whipped his hair back and made his eyes water, but when he rubbed them dry the view was  incredible . He could see the lights of the town spread out below them, with cars driving to and fro.

“It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” Toothless asked him as they glided over Berkston.

“Oh, this is amazing!” Hiccup replied breathlessly, grinning fit to burst. “Man, if you weren’t wearing this jacket, you’d pretty much be invisible, wouldn’t you?”

Toothless laughed again. Hiccup liked his laugh. “We’re not called Nightwings for nothing” he pointed out, before flying up to Raven Point and alighting there. Hiccup dismounted and stumbled. “Are you okay? Your foot!” Toothless cried out in alarm, seeing it was twisted at an unnatural angle. “Oh no, I’m sorry” -

“It’s okay!” Hiccup assured him hastily, “it’s fine, honest. Look.” The young man straightened out his foot like it was nothing. Toothless blinked. “Uh. So, the thing is...” Face red, Hiccup slowly pulled up the left leg of his jeans, to reveal that from halfway down his shin was not flesh and blood, but a prosthetic.

With a soft warble of concern, the dragon asked, “What...what happened?”

“I was in a car crash when I was fifteen” he explained. “It was raining...”

Crooning sympathetically, Toothless inquired “can you keep a secret?” Hiccup nodded. “I...I was in a crash at that age too” he confessed, bringing his tail around and showing Hiccup the fins. The right hand one was scaly, but the left, when one looked closely, was just smooth black leather. “It was set wrong, and had to be removed. They had this new fin made so I can still fly properly.”

I guess this is what Astrid meant when she said we had a lot in common . “I won’t tell a soul” Hiccup promised, feeling honoured to be trusted with this. “I know you have a reputation to uphold” he teased. “Don’t wanna ruin it for ya.”

“You wouldn’t” Toothless said quietly. He sighed and admitted, “I know I’m kind of famous around here, but it...it gets lonely. I don’t have a lot of friends; real friends, I mean, that don’t just like me because I’m some hot shot racing star.” He looked at Hiccup with those big green eyes. “I’ve really enjoyed tonight.”

Smiling, Hiccup replied “yeah, me too. Maybe we could...do it again some time?” he suggested hesitantly. Toothless smiled and nodded eagerly. “Cool.” He shivered and folded his arms tight. “I’ll bring a thicker coat next time.”

“I can give you a ride home, if you want” Toothless offered. 

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I left my bike back at the cove; but thanks anyway.”

So they flew back to the cove, and Toothless landed besides the bike. Hiccup dismounted - more carefully this time - and waved goodbye to the dragon, who gave him a little bow before leaping into the air once more. Then he unchained his bike and peddled home, his heart still up in the clouds.  _Best. Date. Ever_ he thought dreamily.  _Oh, I‘ll never hear the end of it from Astrid._


	10. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Modern AU (Part 2)

Sure enough, when she next saw him the first words out of Astrid’s mouth, besides the customary greetings, were “so how did the you-know-what go?”

Affecting an air of unconcern, Hiccup replied vaguely, “oh, you know. It was pretty good, all things considered.” She folded her arms and stared flatly at him, clearly not buying it. “Alright, fine, it was amazing” he confessed. “He’s amazing. He...” Hiccup checked no one was listening. “He let me ride him.”

Astrid raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Oh, yeah? You two move fast.”

“Um, no, he actually went pretty slow” Hiccup replied, oblivious. Then it dawned on him. “Wait - no! Not like that” he protested, blushing. Astrid doubled over and cackled. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Astrid. I mean he took me for a ride on his back. I saw Berkston from the air, it’s beautiful.”

“At night, anyway. Not so much during the day” Astrid shrugged. “What?” she asked, seeing his confusion. “My friend Stormfly’s taken me for a ride or two.”

Stormfly...? “To- err, he’s friends with Stormfly too” said Hiccup. “Did the two of you put your heads together and concoct this plan to set me and him up?”

Astrid held up her hands in mock surrender. “Guilty as charged. It all worked out for the best, though. You did get his number, right?” she checked. Hiccup winced. “Seriously? Ugh. Did you forget by accident or on purpose this time?”

“...Accident” he mumbled finally. “I dunno, it just slipped my mind. You know I’m not good at this sort of thing.” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to date anyone, he just felt awkward and unworthy whenever he did...except for this last time.

She patted his arm sympathetically. “Tell you what. Let me give Stormfly your number to give to him, and then we’ll see if he texts you his number, okay?”

Hiccup didn’t really see what difference it made, who texted who first, but he agreed nonetheless. “Perfect! I’m happy for you” Astrid smiled at him. “Who knows? Maybe this dragon could be Mr Right. What’s his name, anyway?” 

He blinked, confused. “You...wait, you don’t know? But you’re the one who...?”

“Stormfly just told me a friend of hers was looking to date someone who didn’t like being in the spotlight. I did think it was kind of weird” Astrid mused, “but I figured he was just shy. What, is he actually famous or something?” she joked.

You have no idea. Hiccup felt torn. On the one hand, she’d freak if she knew he’d been on a date with  _ Fury _ of all dragons. On the other hand, he didn’t want to break Fury’s - Toothless’ trust by telling someone else his real name. He had to say  something though. “Ha, ha. Nah. His name’s, err...Furless” he answered.

Straightaway he could tell Astrid wasn’t buying it. “Furless? Hm. I guess it would suit a dragon, at least.” To Hiccup’s relief, she then changed the subject.

Toothless did text him in the end, and the two of them went on a few more dates. These were always wonderful, but Hiccup noticed that all of them took place at night, or out of town. He didn’t complain, it just made him feel kind of...well, he’d never expect someone like Toothless to date someone like him.

One day, Toothless invited him to the racetrack to watch the Nightwing...well, race. Or at least train. Hiccup watched in awe as Toothless zoomed around the track and slalomed through the obstacles, a jet black blur. When the dragon performed a somersault in midair, he cheered in excitement. “Yeah baby!”

Then he heard someone else cheer as well, and turned to see his least favourite people. Snotlout, Ruffnut and Tuffnut were sauntering towards him, bottles of beer in their hands. “What are you doing here, useless?” Snotlout demanded when he caught sight of Hiccup. “Didn’t you see the sign?”

“Yeah!” Tuffnut exclaimed. Then he belched and asked, “Uh, wait. What sign?”

“The sign that says ‘No Losers Allowed’” answered Snotlout. He let out that obnoxious laugh of his, and the twins joined in, leering at Hiccup nastily. 

Rolling his eyes, Hiccup snarked “if losers aren’t allowed here, then why did you lot come in?” He regretted it a moment later when Snotlout punched him in the gut. Hiccup groaned and staggered backwards, just in time for a certain angry dragon to land squarely between him and the three idiots, snarling.

“Did you just hit my boyfriend?” Toothless demanded, his pupils slitted. 

The question went right over Snotlout’s head. “Oh my Thor, it’s you. Guys, it’s  Fury ! You  spoke to me. Can I have your autograph?” he asked eagerly.

“Can we get a photo?” Tuffnut asked at the same time. Only Ruffnut seemed to have realised that they’d just poked a metaphorical hornet’s nest, and began backing away. Toothless reared to his full height - it was easy to forget just how large he really was - and roared at the top of his lungs. Terrified, they finally got the hint and scarpered. He dropped back to all fours and snorted.

Then he turned to Hiccup. “Are you okay? I didn’t frighten you too, did I?”

“No, you...you called me your boyfriend” Hiccup murmured, in a dazed voice. 

Toothless just blinked. “Well...we’re dating, aren’t we?” he asked uncertainly.

“Yeah. It’s just...we’ve never been out in public, and I - I mean, I get it, you have a reputation, and I’m just...I wouldn’t wanna admit I was dating me, either.”

To his surprise, Toothless whimpered. “I didn’t mean to make you feel that way” he promised. “I’m not embarrassed by you. Everyone always wants my attention, autographs and photos and stuff...I didn’t want to drag you into all that. You don’t care that I’m famous. I can be myself with you and I like that.”

Hiccup was genuinely touched. “I feel the same way” he admitted. “Sorry, Toothless. I should’ve known you weren’t...I haven’t even told anyone we’re dating. Astrid didn’t know your name, just that you were a friend of Stormfly, and I didn’t know what else to say so I, uh...told her your name was Furless.”

He turned crimson as Toothless chortled. “Oh, that’s a good one! So, what do you wanna do now?” he asked. “Does your chest still hurt? We can get ice.”

“I’m fine. Tougher than I look” Hiccup assured him. “You wanna get a coffee?”

Toothless gave him a gummy smile and gestured for him to climb on. “Hold on tight!” They launched into the air with terrific speed, and Hiccup whooped. 


	11. For Eternity

The sky was a perfect shade of blue, the sun beat down, the wind swept them along with glorious speed. Hiccup watched light sky become darker ocean as Toothless flipped over and plummeted downwards. He twirled in midair, and spread out his wings at the last moment, sweeping across the waves. Hiccup clicked the tail-fin into the correct position without a moments thought.

Sea stacks rushed towards the pair. They swerved left, right, left again, solid rock flashing past on either side. Out into the open, heading directly at a stone arch - unclipped from the saddle, tail-fin locked, knees bent, launched - over the arch, land on saddle, do a victory loop. “Yeah!” he cheered. “Come on!”

With most of his energy burned off, Toothless settled into a comfortable glide on an updraft. Hiccup relaxed as well, leaning back against Toothless and closing his eyes against the sun’s glare. Soon it’s brightness became too much to bear, and he sat up again. “Hey, bud, what d’you say we head to the cove?”

Toothless gave an agreeable croon and banked around. Their cove was nice and shaded, with fresh water to drink from the waterfall spilling over the edge. Hiccup dismounted and took off the saddle, scratching at the itchy scales underneath. The dragon happily flopped down with his eyes closed, purring. 

After a few minutes the scratches ended, so he cracked an eye open. Hiccup had lain back in the grass, eyes shut, with a cute contented little smile on his face. Toothless purred softly. He had the most adorable, prettiest mate in the world. He was filled with a sudden urge to do something nice for Hiccup.

The question was, what? Somehow he didn’t think a gift of fish from the lake would go over well, even if he didn’t eat part of it first. He couldn’t fly off to fetch anything else either. No gift, then. What else did humans do when they wanted to show affection? Toothless tried to remember, and then it struck him.

Sometimes humans sang to each other. He had heard Hiccup’s sire and dam singing together; he even remembered the tune. Sort of. Toothless had never actually sung before, but how hard could it be? It was just like warbling, right?

He opened his mouth and gurgled the tune of that human mating-song. Or as close as he could get anyway. Hiccup’s eyes opened. He stared at Toothless in surprise. “Err, bud? You okay there?” Toothless nodded eagerly and continued. Hiccup finally realised what he was doing. “Are you trying to sing?” he giggled.

The dragon cut off mid warble and pouted. “Aww, no, I’m sorry” he apologised, reaching out to caress Toothless. “I didn’t mean to laugh at you.” It wasn’t like he was any better. No one was around to hear them, though...how did the song go again? Wait, it should fit them. “I’d soar and glide through stormy skies, with ne’er a fear of falling, and gladly ride the winds of life, if you will stay with me...”

Toothless looked delighted, and began warbling again. “No scorching sun, nor freezing cold, can stop me on my journey...if you will promise me your heart...”

*And love me for eternity* Toothless finished the verse. *I always-love Hiccup.*

Heart melting, Hiccup replied “I always love Toothless. So, about this song...” 

...

I’ll soar and glide through stormy skies, with ne’er a fear of falling 

And gladly ride the winds of life, if you will stay with me 

No scorching sun nor freezing cold, will stop me on my journey 

If you will promise me your heart, and love me for eternity 

My dearest one, my darling dear, your mighty words astound me

But I’ve no need of mighty deeds when I feel your wings around me

And I will catch you if you fall, towards ground, water, or fire 

I will protect you from all harm, and I’ll carry you higher 

You’d catch me if I fall, I know, I trust you and I’ll never 

Push you away or let you go,   
  


Just stay with me forever 

We’ll spin and dive and gently soar,

And never mind the weather 

Need you to know that I adore 

When we can fly together

I’ll soar and glide through stormy skies, with ne’er a fear of falling 

And gladly ride the winds of life...

If you will stay with me 

If you will stay with me 


	12. Snow Fight

Winters on Berk were long, cold, dark, cold, hard, and cold. Yet they could also be so beautiful. After the brutal snowstorms had passed, a fluffy white swathe covered every surface; frosty patterns of ice coated anything damp the night before. Hiccup liked seeing it all early in the morning, before everyone else woke up and the snow was inevitably trampled and churned into muddy slush.

Hiccup spent a few moments admiring the view, before Toothless nudged his arm. “Okay, I’m coming, Mr Impatient” he teased. The dragon retaliated by huffing fishy breath in his face. Hiccup wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Eugh! You are so gross” he informed Toothless, climbing into the saddle. Then they flew.

It was freezing, the wind scraped his nose and cheeks red raw, and he had to keep checking that the tail-fin wasn’t going stiff. Hiccup loved every second. So did Toothless, right up until his rider eagerly. suggested, “Hey bud, howabout we have a go at that trick with the arch? Y’know, for old times sake?”

Toothless rolled his eyes. *Why you always want-do dangerous trick?*

“It’s not that dangerous” Hiccup protested. The dragon was unconvinced. “C’mon, please? Just one go, and then we’ll head back and get breakfast.”

So with much grumbling, Toothless relented. They flew at speed towards the rocky arch, then he glided with Hiccup crouched precariously on the saddle. “Hold it...hold it...now!” Toothless ducked, Hiccup jumped, and almost cleared the stone - only for his peg leg to catch the very edge of it as he came down.

Instead of landing in the saddle, he fell onto Toothless’ haunches. The dragon shrieked and began to fall. Hiccup scrambled up his back into the saddle and let the tail fin out again. They both panted. He laughed. Toothless growled.

“Oh come on, I’m fine! I just misjudged the timing a little...let’s try again.” Toothless was having none of it, and flew back towards Berk, ignoring Hiccup’s protests. Their agreement had been one attempt to do it and then breakfast.

So home they went. Stoick was awake and just leaving when they returned. “Morning, son!” he greeted, cheerful. “You two’ve been out flying already?”

“Yeah, we would’ve stayed out longer but Mr Impatient here got hungry.” This piece of snark promptly earned Hiccup a tail-fin smack upside the head. “Ow!”

After breakfast they emerged from the house once more, and flew to the cove. It too was covered in a shin deep layer of snow, and the surface of the lake was frozen. Before dismounting, Hiccup attached one of his new inventions to his prosthetic. The snow was pretty, but it was also a pain in the leg - literally, in his case - to walk on. So he’d made a lightweight snowshoe attachment.

Hiccup took a few steps and didn’t sink into the snow. “Ha! It works. What d’you think, bud?” Toothless sniffed at the mesh and crooned approvingly. “Why thank you, I’m quite proud of it myself. So, now what d’you wanna do?”he asked. A moment later his face was getting splattered with very cold snow.

His dragon chortled as he spluttered and rubbed the cold white stuff out of his eyes. “Oh, so that’s how you wanna play it? Bring it on!” Hiccup pressed two handfuls of snow into a ball and hurled it at the Night Fury, who blocked it with a wing and swiped Hiccup’s legs out from underneath. “Oof! Seriously, bud?”

Scrambling to his feet, Hiccup darted behind a nearby heap of boulders. There he started frantically making more snowballs, using it as a barrier against the snow Toothless was flicking at him. Then the Night Fury bounded over to attack from the sides. “That’s cheating!” he cried, and threw another icy lump.

Their snow fight was vigorous, but eventually the two of them were lying out of breath on the ground. Or rather, Toothless was on the ground, and Hiccup was draped over his chest. “Did you...just want an excuse to cuddle?” he inquired.

*No, just want-play. Not-need reason to cuddle mate* Toothless pointed out. Hiccup chuckled fondly, and rested his head upon his partners warm scales. Yes, winters on Berk were cold; so it was all the more important to stay close to the ones you loved; and there was no one Hiccup loved more than Toothless. 


	13. Healer Toothless

Toothless whined, gazing at Hiccup with large eyes. There was a sickness going around the village, and ever since his human had so much as coughed, the Night Fury had been fretting. Despite the young man’s stubborn insistence that he was fine, Hiccup had succumbed to the sickness, and was now laid up in bed with a fever. “‘S’okay, bud. ‘M’fine” he mumbled. Then he coughed hard.

The dragon whined again, and insisted *You not-fine. You sick.* He leaned forward and gently pressed his nose to Hiccup’s forehead, checking how warm it was. It was okay for dragons to be very warm, but not humans. Deciding that Hiccup’s forehead was too hot, he licked at it in an attempt to cool it down.

“Thanks...” Hiccup murmured. A huge yawn stretched his jaw. “It’s okay” he slurred. “I’ma Viking...I’ll be fine.” He had to say it. If his overprotective dragon nursemaid found out that humans could die from fevers, Toothless would be fretting and hovering even more than he already was. “S’just a little fever.”

Judging by the hooded glance and dismissive snort, the Fury wasn’t buying that. *First was ‘just little cough’. Then ‘just a sneeze’. Now this. What next?*

Hiccup sniggered, only for another coughing fit to overtake him. His throat felt sore and dry. He struggled to sit up, but his limbs felt heavy as iron. A tail-fin slid underneath him and lifted him easily. “Thanks” he breathed, grateful. Thenhe reached for the stein of water his dad left for him, and sipped it carefully.

*Is-fine. I want-to help* Toothless replied. When Hiccup had finished, he carefully laid his human back down, and padded around to the other side of the bed. On the stand was a cloth draped in a bowl full of water he wasn’t supposed to drink. Toothless carefully picked it up, turned aside to shake off the droplets, and placed it as delicately as he could upon Hiccup’s forehead. .

With a tired smile, Hiccup mumbled, “Thanks, bud. You’re ama...” he was interrupted by a yawn, “....zing.” He closed his eyes, trusting Toothless to watch over him as he slept. The dragon crooned softly and nuzzled his human.

*You rest now. Get better* he encouraged, burrowing his head under Hiccup’s arm to give him something to cuddle. The two of them dozed off together.


	14. I’m Fine, See?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Innuendo Warning

“Would you relax?” Hiccup asked in exasperation. “I’m fine, see? It’s not even bleeding anymore.” It wasn’t that big of a wound in the first place. Hiccup didn’t really consider it a wound, except in the general sense of a mark on ones skin. This was a special kind of mark. It was a good kind. It was a mating bite.

Sure, it had been painful at first, but he didn’t regret it. Toothless on the other hand now felt guilty for hurting him, and anxious that he might get sick. He felt fine. He  was fine! Toothless was just overreacting. “Bud, I promise I’m okay.” 

The dragon looked unconvinced. *I hurt you* he whimpered, licking at the mark again, as if that would somehow make it disappear. Which would defeat the whole point of getting it, of course. *Could-have hurt more. You fragile.*

“Oi!” Hiccup cried indignantly. “I am not. I am a strong, tough, manly Viking” he insisted. Toothless gave him a sardonic hood-eyed stare. “Yeah, yeah. Look, I know compared to  you I might seem fragile, but I’m resilient. I mean, look at all the times we’ve crashed. If I was  fragile , my bones would shatter on impact. Like pottery.” He grimaced at the mental image. “Actually, forget I said that.”

*I not was thinking of crashing* Toothless retorted. At first Hiccup was confused, but then it finally dawned on him. The dragon chuckled at his blush.

“Shut up. My point still stands; if I can handle...y’know,  _ that _ , why should this make a difference?” he asked, gesturing to the mating bite on his shoulder.

Toothless looked at it for a long time, and then sighed. *It not* he admitted, wrapping a wing around his partner. Then, feeling mischievous, he nudged Hiccup onto his back and pinned the human with a gentle paw on his chest. *I clever. I catch tasty fish* he gurgled happily, looking down with a gummy smile.

Hiccup’s nose scrunched up. “Who’re you calling a fish?” he demanded. Just because his surname was Haddock, honestly...that joke had never been funny.

*You fish* Toothless declared, adopting a blank stare and gaping stupidly. Hiccup sniggered. *That you* the dragon claimed, much to his indignation.

“I have never made that face in my life. I am not a fish, Toothless” he insisted.

*Then why you wiggling?* asked Toothless. Before Hiccup could ask or figure out what he meant, the dragon purred against his ribs, and he squealed. He’d fervently deny making that noise later, but right now he was just trying to get away from the barrage of tickling. Then the licking started, oh joy. *You fish!* Toothless chortled as he spluttered. “You wet and wiggly and tasty little fish.*

“Y-yeah, well...” Hiccup panted, struggling to catch his breath. “You’re...you’re a fish too” he retorted. “Cos...you’re scaly, and you’ve got no teeth.” Wait, did fish even have teeth? He’d never looked. Some had teeth, obviously, the bigger fish that ate the...smaller...Toothless’ gaze on him was  hungry . Hiccup gulped.

*Yes* the dragon agreed, licking his jaws. *Hiccup small, tasty fish. Toothless, big hungry fish. Toothless want eat...* he lowered his head until they were nose to nose and just stared for a minute or so.  Haddock. He’s going to say he wants to eat Haddock... *Cod!* the Fury chirped. *Us go back now, have dinner?* he suggested brightly, as if he hadn’t just driven Hiccup to distraction. 

It took a second for the rest of Hiccup’s brain to catch up. “Oh no you don’t. You can give me a ride home later but right now it’s your turn, mister.” With that, he pulled Toothless into a kiss. They’d get dinner eventually. Probably.


	15. Don’t Leave Me

It was hard, being the mate of this human. Well, having such a different species as a partner was never going to be easy, but Hiccup in particular had a way of making it even more difficult. Not on purpose, of course; he was as sweet, devoted and supportive towards Toothless as Toothless was to him.

The problem was that his adorable, beloved human kept almost dying, more often than not in an attempt to save him. Hiccup had almost been drowned, burned alive, struck by lightning, eaten, skewered or otherwise inconvenienced more times than Toothless cared to count. But on purpose! Sometimes he wasn’t sure if his mate had a death wish or if Hiccup was just that reckless.

Toothless loved Hiccup more than anything, but hated the young man’s flippant attitude towards his own death. ‘Occupational hazard’ indeed. It was his own occupational hazard to keep Hiccup alive, and every single time, Toothless felt terrified that it wouldn’t be enough. If he was just a fraction too slow, or too weak...there was a good reason he barely ever left Hiccup’s side.

This last time was one too many. He had been too weak, unable to shift the awful device his mate was trapped in, forced to watch as the water poured in, to listen as Hiccup uttered what they both thought would be his last words... “I know, bud. I wouldn’t leave you either.” One final affirmation of their bond.

Of course, then the Submaripper returned the favour and saved Hiccup’s life. Toothless would always be grateful to it. He still couldn’t believe a lick on the face had revived his human; not that he was complaining, but it seemed odd nonetheless. Toothless sighed. He was just wondering about all this pointless stuff so he didn’t have to think of Hiccup trapped, Hiccup limp, Hiccup dying...

“Bud? You okay?” Hiccup asked tentatively. “You kinda whimpered a bit there” he added by way of explanation. They were back home, and had gone to bed. He’d thought Hiccup was asleep, and nuzzled him very carefully. “Talk to me.”

*You nearly died. Again* he huffed. There, he’d said it. *I could not save you.*

“...I’m sorry” Hiccup whispered. “I was scared, too. I thought...that was it” he confessed. “I meant every word that I said. I wouldn’t have left you either.”

That was the problem, Toothless realised. *You did almost leave. You almost died. I would have died with you. What if next time I not save and not die?*

Hiccup looked stricken. Toothless pressed the issue. *You want me to die?*

“No! Of course not, bud, how could you ever think that?”

*If you almost get killed, I will save you, but then I almost get killed. Just not as much. I not want you dead. You not want me dead. You not want you dead?*

It took a moment to puzzle out, but then... “No. No, I don’t want to die. I know what we do is dangerous, and I know it upsets you when I almost...when I have these near misses” he admitted. “It’s just, if we don’t do this, then who will? We couldn’t just leave the Submaripper chained up; Berk was getting starved out.”

Whining slightly, Toothless asked, *but why you have to do dangerous thing?*

“Because if I didn’t do it, then someone else would have had to go down, and the boulder would still have broken the winch” Hiccup pointed out. “I don’t take risks because I have a death wish. I take them so the people I care about don’t have to. I know I ought to be more careful...but anything could happen, right?”

It was true, but that didn’t make it any nicer to hear. *What I do if you gone?*

Hiccup caressed his face and murmured, “to be honest, I always thought you’d go on a vicious rampage to avenge me so that I didn’t die in vain.” Toothless snorted in amusement in spite of himself. “Heh. Don’t worry. I won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. Would you feel better if I took less risk for a while?”

*I would feel better if you never took risks* the dragon retorted. He nuzzled his partner again and begged, *don’t leave me. Please. I don’t want to let you go.*

Wrapping his arms around Toothless’ neck, Hiccup promised “I won’t. I won’t.” 


	16. You Are Amazing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DragonSacrifice!Hiccup AU

It was a dark night, and Hiccup had never felt more miserable in his life. It was going to end soon anyway. Gothi had received a message from the gods, to sacrifice their rightful heir to the dragons for relief from the raids. His father hadn’t  wanted to do it, which was some comfort, but everyone feared what would happen if they disobeyed the gods command. So here he was, tied to a stake on top of Ravens Point, waiting for death. “Why do the gods hate me?”

The wind whistled eerily, and a living shadow plunged out of the sky. Hiccup gulpedand shrank back against the stake as the dragon stalked towards him. Clouds shifted above and in the moonlight, he got his first proper look at the beast. It was like nothing Hiccup had ever seen. The dragons that he was familiar with had rough scales, sharp spikes, jutting fangs and sickle claws.

This Night Fury was darkness incarnate; as if it had been carved from jet black ebony and polished to a near perfect varnish. Piercing green eyes, the pupils narrow slits, fixed on him; even if he wasn’t restrained, Hiccup couldn’t have moved with that gaze pinning him. Closer and closer it stalked, it’s muscles flexing under that smooth hide, short claws gripping the uneven ground.

Hiccup squirmed in his bonds, heart beating faster than ever. Would the Night Fury kill and eat him right here? Or would it take him back to its lair and toy with him first? Hiccup screwed his eyes shut and grit his teeth when the Night Fury reached him at last. He felt it sniffing at him, its hot breath puffing against his neck, ruffling his hair, and flinched. Yet the dragon still did not attack him.

Instead, it crooned; there was no other way to describe the noise. Hiccup eyes flew open. The Night Fury didn’t look hungry, but knowing, even sympathetic. Sure that he was imagining things, Hiccup stammered, “Um, s-so, if y-you’re gonna kill me, c-can you at least make it quick? Please?” The dragon moved behind him. “W-what are you doing?” he asked nervously, but then he felt it biting and tugging at the ropes that bound him to the stake. It was untying him.

The ropes gave way at last; he carefully moved his aching arms and rubbed his chafed wrists. Too shocked to try and flee, Hiccup could only stare open-mouthed at the Fury. It - they - stared back, those luminous green eyes gazing into his very soul. For a moment, time seemed to stop, and the only coherent thought in Hiccup’s mind was  _ this dragon isn’t a monster...they’re amazing. _

The thought registered a moment later, and he wondered at what point he’d gone from being terrified of this dragon to being fascinated by it. The Night Fury regarded him a moment longer before padding over to the cliff edge and looking down at the village. It growled and spread its wings. “Wait, no!” Hiccup exclaimed, reaching out. The dragon stared at him. “Don’t hurt them, please. They just - someone made them do this.” He swallowed. “It’s complicated.” 

It was a little strange to be defending his tribe when they’d just sacrificed him to a dragon, but there were still a few people he cared about down there. The Night Fury snarled in the village’s direction once more, and then jerked its head, clearly gesturing for Hiccup to climb onto its back. He hesitated, but given how they’d met...besides, maybe this would appease the gods at last.

So he went over, and carefully hauled himself onto the Fury’s shoulders. With no better options, Hiccup wrapped his arms around the dragon’s thick neck just in time. Leathery wings spread on either side of him, and the Fury leapt off the cliff. His stomach flipped over as the wind caught them and they soared.

Hiccup’s eyes were closed against the wind. The Fury crooned again, like it was encouraging him. He opened them and gasped; they were high in the air, with the Northern Lights shimmering above their heads. He’d seen it before, of course, but now the undulating curtains of light seemed almost...tangible.

Although he was shivering, Hiccup suddenly didn’t mind the cold. “Okay, I admit” he murmured. “This is amazing.” He looked at the Fury carrying him, who glanced back with a mischievous gleam in their eye. “ _You_ are amazing.” 


	17. Fore And After

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major Innuendo Warning 
> 
> Minor NSFW

A mighty dragon lunged at his prey with a triumphant snarl and closed his jaws around the squirming form, gnawing at it hungrily, devouring it whole. 

“Oh no. Help. I’m being eaten alive. Oh, the agony” his prey deadpanned. Toothless rolled his eyes and dropped Hiccup onto a nest of furs. Moments later a small tongue was running along the seam of his mouth, soft clever hands stroking his jaw and playing with his auricles. He purred against Hiccup’s lips, just so his mate would giggle and press kisses to his snout.

His sneaky human wriggled out from under him and dragged those adorable blunt claws of his down Toothless’ chest, before draping over his shoulders. He dropped into a crouch so that Hiccup tumbled off again and pinned him. *You’ve been riding me all day* he complained. *Now it’s my turn. Stay still!*

“What, you wanna ride yourself?” Hiccup grinned. “You’re flexible, but you’re not  that flexible” he teased. Toothless licked him for that, making him splutter and turn his head away, and nudged a smooth snout into his neck to breathe in his scent, licked the hollow of his throat to make him moan, then nipped at the fabric covering his mate and tried to tug it off, growling impatiently. “Okay, okay, keep your scales on.” Hiccup squirmed out of his tunic and pants.

No sooner had he thrown them aside than Toothless’ forked tongue was all over his nipples. Toothless knew about all of the pleasurable bits on his mates body, and wasted no time in seeking them out. But he wasn’t the only one; Hiccup slid under him and reached up to scratch at the junction of his neck and shoulder, right where a draconic mate would bite in the throes of passion.

He was really more amused than aroused when Hiccup started gnawing at his scales. *Bite harder* Toothless suggested, chortling. *Almost-can feel teeth.*

Hiccup bit his nearest auricle in retaliation, and he yipped. “Did you feel that? At least I’m putting some effort in” the human groused, even as he nuzzled the same spot. “Woah!” He clung on tighter when Toothless abruptly sat back on his haunches, leaving him dangling from the dragons neck. “Wait, hold on. I just had a great idea. When I say ‘now’, put your paws under my thighs, okay?” 

*Okay* Toothless agreed. Hiccup balanced with one foot against a scaly knee, then heaved himself up, arms braced against Toothless’ shoulders. “Now.” He felt Toothless shift, and when he lowered back down, Hiccup found he could rest his weight on Toothless’ paws. There was no fear of being too heavy. “Ha!” 

Very carefully, he leaned back, holding the back of Toothless’ head to balance. In this somewhat precarious arrangement he could meet his lovers eyes. “See?Told you it was a great idea” he grinned. “Now whatever you do, don’t drop - aaah!” Hiccup yelled as Toothless leaned forwards and did just that, letting him fall to the heap of furs with a thump, his legs still sticking up in the air.

Winded, he tried to catch his breath and scold the dragon, but Toothless had already started pleasuring him again, and he forgot what he was going to say.

* * *

Hiccup panted. His hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, and so were the furs underneath him. As well as dragon saliva, and other fluids... “That was fun” he slurred, “wake me up when I’m not filthy, would you?” Toothless moved;he could hear the furs shifting; and returned with a water skin in his mouth. 

*You drink* Toothless crooned anxiously, placing it near his hand. He smiled gratefully and propped himself up on an elbow, pulling the stopper out with his teeth and taking a gulp. Making love was thirsty work. Once he’d drunk his fill, Hiccup poured some of the water into Toothless’ open mouth. “Where’s-? Oh, thanks” he said gratefully, picking up the towel that was dropped in his lap. 

He used it to wipe off the stickiness all over. A bath would be nice, but he hadn’t thought to prepare one before they’d gotten...frisky. Maybe later, when he wasn’t so...Hiccup yawned. “You really wore me out, bud” he mumbled, dragging himself to a cooler patch of bedding. Toothless warbled and curled up around him, fanning them both lightly with his tail-fin. “Let’s just sleep...” 

Toothless gazed at the young man, curled on his side with his mouth slightly open and hair sticking up all over the place, and felt grateful to have such an adorable, handsome partner. He yawned as well, stretched and rested his head besides Hiccup’s. A hand fell onto his paw to hold it, and he purred. 


	18. Here’s The Thing...

Hiccup watched in horror as Toothless turned on him, pupils slit, under the Bewilderbeast’s control. “No...no, bud, it’s me. It’s Hiccup. Your...your best friend” he begged. He couldn’t say what he really was, not with Drago right there, gloating over his imminent demise as Toothless charged a blast...

Or could he? A crazy idea took root in Hiccup’s mind, a desperate plan, a way to snap Toothless out of this...and if it failed and he died, what a way to go.

Slowly, he sank to one knee, and still Toothless stalked towards him. “It’s okay, bud. They’re making you do it. I...I still love you, so much.” With that, he lunged - and pressed his lips firmly against Toothless’, screwing his eyes shut. There was a strangled noise from somewhere, but he just held on and waited....

Drago stared. Stoick skidded to a halt and gaped, as did Valka. Hiccup was...his son was  snogging Toothless. What? When did - why was - what?

After what felt like an eternity, Hiccup felt Toothless’ stiff posture relax, heard him croon, and pulled back. His partner’s pupils were wide again, and he was wiggling in delight. “Hey, you! Welcome ba”- his relieved greeting was cut off when Toothless mashed their lips together again. Well, he wasn’t complaining.

He’d almost forgotten about Drago when the man yelled “Enough! That is a  beast !” They looked over at him, Toothless snarling. He looked revolted.

Hiccup couldn’t resist. “Oh yeah, my dragon  is a beast” he agreed, slinging an arm around Toothless’ shoulders. “In bed, anyway.” Drago looked like he was going to be sick. The Bewilderbeast was confused, waiting for more orders.

They never came, because at that moment, Grump dropped out of the sky and flattened Drago. “Guess that’s one way to shut him up” Gobber remarked cheerfully. “Of all the ways for you two to come out...you don’t do anything by halves, do ya lad?” he asked Hiccup, who shrugged and grinned sheepishly. 

A cleared throat behind him made him cringe. Hiccup and Toothless both turned to see Stoick - and Valka - staring at them. “Uh...so here’s the thing...”

* * *

“Toothless and I are mates” he admitted, when they were back in mum’s cave for some privacy. Only himself, Toothless, and his parents were present; Gobber and Astrid were running herd on the rest of the riders, as they explored the Ice Nest. Stoick looked disapproving, and Valka seemed rather concerned. 

Hiccup squared his shoulders and declared “look, dad, I know this is a shock to you...but I love Toothless, and he loves me, and we’re happy together.” The dragon curled around him crooned in agreement, and nuzzled into his neck. 

Stoick pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t believe this” he muttered. “Being obsessed with dragons is one thing, but not like...this! What about Astrid?” 

I’m not obsessed he wanted to say, but didn’t. “Um, she kinda already knows” he winced. “But it’s alright, we’ve worked things out. Cos, uh, I’m probably gonna need a heir eventually, and Toothless can’t do that, for obvious reasons, so she doesn’t feel threatened. They’re just gonna kind of share me, I guess.” 

Valka asked “son, I know it’s not my place but...are you sure this is safe?” 

“Toothless would never hurt me” Hiccup replied at once. “We’re always careful, honest. Both of us are well aware of the, um, size differences” he blushed. This was one of the reasons he’d never dared bring it up. Well, that and all the rest. 

His father was frowning, but not in an angry way...more contemplative. Hiccup sighed. “Dad? Look, I - I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. But you know how you get about new things and...I wasn’t sure if it’d be safe” he admitted. Stoick looked stricken. “But y’know, if you have any questions, I’m happy to answer them.” 

There was a pause, and then Stoick dragged a hand over his face. “I don’t know what to make of this” he admitted, “but whatever kind of bond you two have, seems it damn well saved your life. Which reminds me, never give me a heart attack like that again son. Your antics turned me grey before my time.” Hiccup grinned sheepishly. “Ah, c’mere, both of you” he held his arms out. 

Despite being crushed between his father, mother, and draconic lover, Hiccup had never felt happier, and dared to believe that things would be okay after all. 


	19. Meet My Mate

After years of searching, they had finally found other Night Furies. Hiccup currently had mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, he was thrilled. On the other, he had been cornered by two angry dragons and was about to die.

*Stop!* Toothless screeched, leaping to his rescue in the nick of time as always. Hiccup breathed a sigh of relief as he was enveloped in black scales. Toothless curled around him protectively and snarled at the attacking Furies. *My human! You not hurt* he warned them. *You kill my human, I kill  you .*

“Toothless, don’t you think we should get on their good side?” Hiccup asked nervously. He didn’t want them to be chased off and unable to return just after finding more of his dragon’s kind. Toothless ignored him and kept growling at the other Furies, who snarled right back...until the wind changed, and they got a whiff of his scent. The nearer Fury recoiled, auricles perking up in shock.

*Know scent. Remember....offspring? Son?* Now it was Toothless who looked surprised. Hiccup’s jaw dropped. This Fury was Toothless’ dam? Yes, it turned out; and the other Fury was his sire. They were eager to reunite, but he refused to greet them until they promised not to hurt Hiccup. Confused, they agreed. 

Hiccup watched in delight as the three dragons rubbed against each other, purring up a storm. He was so happy for Toothless...but also a little sad. What if his best friend was happier with the Furies than with him? What if he decided he wanted to live with them instead of on Berk? Hiccup wanted Toothless to be happy, more than anything, but it would still be so very hard to say goodbye.

Toothless came back over and nuzzled his human. *See? No threat. Hiccup, meet sire and dam. This my mate Hiccup* he announced, bold and proud. 

“Wait - you can’t tell them about  that !” Hiccup squawked. “It’s a  secret !”

*From bad humans* said Toothless. *I not-want lie about you. I love you* he crooned, nuzzling Hiccup again. His sire and dam were both staring at them.

His sire protested *That not right. You not-can mate with human! They wrong size, wrong shape, wrong kind. You not-can have offspring with human mate!*

Toothless shrugged his wings. *Not-want offspring. Hatchlings annoying* he declared. Hiccup, meanwhile, had decided it was safer to just keep his mouth shut and not draw attention to himself. *Hiccup not wrong shape. Different shape, but not wrong. He not wrong size.  Look small, but still-can fit* - Hiccup pressed his hand against Toothless mouth and shushed, his face flaming.

“Toothless” he hissed, “I love you too, but for Freyr’s sake, shut up .” The Fury whimpered, and he immediately felt bad; curse those stupid gorgeous eyes. “Oh, it’s alright. I’m not mad. I just don’t think you should be telling your parents about our sex life” he explained. “Do they really need to know about any of it?”

Auricles flattening in embarrassment, Toothless admitted *No. Sorry Hiccup.*

“I forgive you” he murmured, caressing his lover. Then, since the Terror was out of the bag anyway, Hiccup couldn’t resist drawing Toothless into a kiss. When they broke apart, Toothless parents were still staring. His sire was suspicious, but his dam was curious, and took a few steps towards them, sniffing the air.

Hiccup stayed very still as she approached and smelled him all over. They both smelled like each other, and of mating-scent. She didn’t know what to think. “I’m sorry” he said quietly. “I’m probably not what you were expecting.”

She tilted her head at him. Toothless’ sire gave a snarl and flew off, clearly displeased with it all. Hopefully he would come around eventually. Toothless’ dam was more open minded, it seemed. Hiccup held out his palm to her, and closed his eyes. One, two, three, four, five...he felt scales against his palm. 


	20. Date With His Dragon

Hiccup and Astrid were both going on a date. They didn’t announce it as such, but kept giving each other knowing looks, and everyone around them could tell. They got their dragons ready for a flight to a secluded island, put snacks and water skins in their saddlebags, and mounted up. Then they set off.

Once they were out of sight of Berk, Astrid called across to Hiccup, “so we’ll see you back at home, yeah? Don’t do anything stupid!” she warned him. 

“Why do you assume I’d do something stupid?” he complained. Astrid, Stormfly and even Toothless all gave him pointed looks. “Don’t answer that.”

Their dragons swerved apart and they went their separate ways. It was true that Hiccup and Astrid were going on a date...just not with each other. Hiccup and Toothless were mates, but they’d kept it secret from all except Astrid, who covered for them by ‘dating’ Hiccup so the villagers didn’t suspect anything.

Hiccup and Toothless grinned at each other; then the dragon beat his wings to rise higher, into the clouds. “Aww, that one looks like a heart” said Hiccup, as he pointed to a fluffy cumulus that vaguely resembled one. Yet as they flew closer it became more of a shapeless lump. No matter. They dipped and swerved and rolled, revelling in their freedom and each other’s company.

Toothless climbed as high as he could, and coasted on an updraft. Hiccup checked the prosthetic tail-fin wouldn’t get jammed, then unclipped the carabiners and slid off the saddle. Toothless dived with him and they plummeted in perfect unison, spiralling around with the wind rushing past. 

As the ocean drew closer Hiccup caught the air with his wing-suit, and glided on the breeze for a while. He flipped onto his back and grinned at Toothless, who came close enough for Hiccup to hook his legs around the dragons shoulders. Then he quickly grabbed Toothless’ head and snogged him hard.

This was as close as they could get to mating in midair. When they’d had their fill, Toothless flipped underneath Hiccup so that his rider landed on his back, and resumed their meandering course for the Isle of Night. They had taken to using the uninhabited island as a convenient place for their...indiscretions.

When they reached it, Toothless flew straight to their favoured place; a wide canyon that afforded extra privacy. He wasn’t really concerned about not being seen, as a dragon, but he knew it put Hiccup’s mind at ease. He landed, and Hiccup climbed down off his back, putting on a big show of stretching.

Well, two could play at that game. Toothless arched his back and spread his wings to their fullest extent, then reared to his full height. Feigning disinterest, Hiccup announced, “I’m starving. Come down so I can reach the saddlebag.” 

Crouched on his haunches, Toothless refused. *Want food, come get food.* 

“Oh, so that’s how you wanna do it? Making me scale you like a cliff?” Hiccup asked rhetorically. Then he snickered at his own pun. “Get it? Cos you’re scaly, and ‘scale’ is another word for ‘climb’...never mind” he sighed, at the dragons blank expression. Toothless actually did get the joke...it just wasn’t that funny. 

Hiccup suddenly ran at him and jumped, trying to climb over his shoulders to get at the bags. Toothless rolled his eyes and let himself fall with a thump onto his back. He regretted it when Hiccup scratched his sweet spot and he went limp. “Nice try” the man smirked, crawling under his wing to get to the bag. 

He rolled over and stood up again, shaking himself off. Hiccup had sat down on a nearby rock, eating a sandwich with one hand as he doodled in the dirt with a stick. Toothless peered over his shoulder, interested, and saw what looked like a sketch of himself. For a moment he considered posing for it. 

Then he had a better idea, and padded off to find a stick of his own. He found a discarded branch, probably from the last time they were there, and dragged it through the dirt to make a shape. A very special shape. When he’d finished, Toothless tossed the branch aside and admired his artistry, purring loudly. 

It got Hiccup’s attention, who looked up. He saw that Toothless had drawn a heart around him. It was a bit wonky where the tapering lines hadn’t quite met where they were supposed to, and Toothless had just changed the angle. Still, Hiccup thought it was the best heart he’d ever seen. “I guess we both had the same idea” he remarked, beckoning his mate closer with one hand. “Look.” 

Toothless did so. Hiccup had drawn a Night Fury with one tail-fin, a stick figure with one foot, and a heart around both of them. He looked around at the heart they were sitting in, and purred fondly. They smiled at each other and kissed. 


	21. I’m Here For You

Hiccup sponged Toothless’ brow with a damp cloth; he didn’t know if dragons could even suffer from fevers, but Toothless’ scales were unusually hot and he didn’t want to take the risk. “It’s okay, bud. Shh. I’m here. I’m here for you.”

They had been away from the Edge, half exploring and half on patrol, enjoying themselves. Something in the tail-fin mechanism had gotten stuck and made them crash land. Fortunately there was an island nearby. Unfortunately there was oleander growing there, and Toothless had inhaled a lot of the pollen.

By the time they got back, he was already sneezing. It was a good thing they knew of a cure; the twins and Astrid had gone to wrangle a Scauldron for its venom, whilst Fishlegs and Snotlout kept an eye on the Edge. In the meantime, Hiccup’s attention was entirely on making his poor sick dragon comfortable.

Toothless appreciated all of it. The way Hiccup had taken off his harness and prosthetic so it wouldn’t chafe; fed Toothless by hand until he’d lost his appetite; filled a bowl with water for him to drink from; and now he was getting a rub down. Even though he felt so weak, Toothless couldn’t help but purr.

“Hey, you doing alright?” Hiccup asked worriedly. “Hang in there, bud. They’ll be back soon with the cure, I promise.” His soft cool hands stroked over black scales, again and again. “You’re gonna be okay, Toothless. Please be okay” he begged, starting to tear up. “Please. I can’t imagine a world without you in it.”

Toothless huffed a bit. He was sick, yes, but not dying. Probably. *Am fine* he insisted. *Hiccup...not-worry. Is-just...little sneeze.* He heard the young man’s exasperated sigh; that was the same fib Hiccup had once tried to tell him when sick with the...what had he called it, flu? Maybe this was a dragon flu.

Stroking him, Hiccup replied “I’ll stop worrying when you’re back to your old self again. I hate seeing you like this, bud; it was bad enough the first time. Do you need anything? Here, have a drink” he insisted, lifting the bowl with one hand. Toothless’ mouth opened a little and he carefully poured water in. “There you go. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of you until you’re feeling better, Toothless.”

The dragon crooned weakly, but affectionately. *Know-that. Love Hiccup.*

“I love you too.”

*Take care of Toothless...when better?* he asked. *Or me take care of you...*

Hiccup chuckled. “How about we take care of each other?” he suggested. Toothless didn’t respond; he’d fallen asleep. Hiccup remained by his side.

What felt like hours later, Fishlegs burst into the room. “We got the cure!” he cried, handing over a bottle. Hiccup yanked the stopper out, and with Fishlegs’ help, prised Toothless’ mouth open to pour it down his throat. He swallowed it.

The cure was fast acting; in no time at all, Toothless was waking up. He wiggled happily and bestowed licks of gratitude on Fishlegs, the twins and especially his beloved Hiccup. “Yes, I’m glad you’re feeling better as well, bud” Hiccup assured him afterwards, “but you  know that doesn’t wash out!” 


	22. We Protect Our Own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Innuendo Warning 
> 
> Swearing

“So  you’re the famous ‘Dragon Ambassador’, then” sneered Grimmel. “What’s your name...hic-cup...hi-ccup....which do you prefer?” he asked mockingly.

Rather than dignify that with a response, Hiccup replied “and you must be that hunter I’ve heard about. Grummel, or something? I thought you’d be bigger.”

The hunters eyes narrowed. “It’s  Grimmel , actually. Grimmel the Grisly. I am the Night Fury killer. I’ve hunted every Night Fury, except yours” he boasted, and levelled a crossbow at Hiccup’s chest. “Hand him over” he demanded harshly.

Hiccup felt a strange mixture of loathing and disdain towards this so called ‘Night Fury killer’ who had the gall to come into his house and insult him. Did this guy really think he could claim to have wiped out an entire species? “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you for threatening my dragon.”

“That’s not your style, is it? You’re a man of peace. You even think it’s possible to have peace between us and those scaly beasts. How very... naive of you.”

“The six years of co-existence we’ve had here on Berk would beg to differ.”

Grimmel scoffed. “You think these creatures can live amongst us as equals? Foolish boy. It would be the end of civilisation as we know it. Especially with...” He trailed off and grimaced. Hiccup could guess why, but he couldn’t resist.

“With what?” he prompted. “Come on, don’t be shy. Especially with what?”

Pulling a face, Grimmel admitted “I’ve heard...rumours. About you and that Night Fury of yours. Vile, disgusting claims. That you’ve lain with the beast.”

Oh, this is gonna be fun . “Well, of course I’ve lain with him” Hiccup replied innocently. Grimmel choked. “He’s nice and warm, and surprisingly comfy.”

“No! They say that you’ve lain with the dragon as a woman lies with a man.”

“I didn’t know I lie like a woman” remarked Hiccup. “I do know I’m a bad liar.”

Grimmel looked more frustrated than ever. “I’m talking about beastiality!”

Hiccup pretended to understand at last. “Oh. There are rumours that Toothless and I are screwing each other?” he asked. “Uh, yeah, those aren’t rumours.”

“What?!” Grimmel snapped. “You’ve actually...with...I think I’m gonna be sick.”

“It’s not as bad as it sounds” Hiccup went on. “We make it work. I mean sure, his dick’s pretty big, but you’d be amazed at how much I can fit inside my” -

“Don’t! I don’t want to hear it” Grimmel declared. “Bad enough you think of them as equals, but  this ?I’ve never heard of anything so foul, so...so...” 

“Unnatural?” Hiccup supplied helpfully. “Disgusting? Insane? Bizarre?”

“Yes! It’s revolting, it’s...it’s disturbing.” Grimmel looked away, gagging.

“Uh huh. You know what else it is?” Hiccup inquired. Grimmel looked up just in time to be punched in the face. “None of your damn business.” He kicked the crossbow aside and slammed the hunter against the door. “You think you can come into my house and insult me and my lover? Well, you forgot one thing.”

Hiccup drove a knife between Grimmel’s ribs. “I might be a dragonfucker, but I’m also a Viking. And we protect our own.” Then he pulled the blade out and let the dying hunter slump to the floor, stepping over him and out of the door. He felt dirty all of a sudden, and wanted nothing more than to reunite with Toothless and be covered by his lover’s scent, surrounded by his affection. 


	23. Stay Away From Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor Innuendo Warning

It was funny how fast things changed. When Toothless first saw Lumina, he was admittedly intrigued. Finally, another Fury! He’d have been happy to get to know her, show her around his home and introduce her to his family. But then...

She nearly killed his mate, and suddenly he wanted nothing to do with her. *Stay away from him!* Toothless snarled at the white dragon, who flinched and looked at him like he’d lost his mind, before fleeing into the night. He could hear Astrid exclaiming about how she’d turned invisible, but he was too busy checking on Hiccup to pay attention. *Don’t worry. I not-will let her hurt you.*

Despite his warning, the next morning she had the gall to show up again. She tried to tear Hiccup right out of the saddle! It didn’t work, of course; his rider was tethered to him. All it did was mess with his tail-fin and make them both drop out of the sky. He hoped she was happy, nearly getting them both killed!

After that, they were too busy dealing with some skinny hunter who claimed to have killed all of his kind (which he knew was a lie) for him to think about her. Toothless didn’t really like the idea of Hiccup confronting this hunter by himself, but his mate didn’t want to put him in danger. Which was really daft, since of the two of them he had the faster reflexes and better survival instincts.

When he learned that Hiccup had killed the hunter for threatening him, he was so proud. They were in the cove; Toothless nuzzled Hiccup and praised him and reassured him when the awareness of what he’d done began to sink in. *It good you killed bad human. You protect, you brave* he insisted over and over.

Hiccup smiled fondly. “Thanks, bud. You always know how to make me feel better” he murmured, before stripping off his tunic. He let Toothless push him onto his back; the grass tickled his skin. It was cold enough to give him goosebumps, but plenty of heat emanated from the dragon standing over him.

He moaned, back arching, and looked upside down at the cliffs behind them. A pair of disembodied bright blue eyes stared back at him. Hiccup gasped and sat bolt upright, inadvertently smacking his head right into Toothless’. “Agh!”

*What wrong?* asked Toothless, as he rolled over to look at the cliff properly. There was no sign of any eyes, disembodied or otherwise, looking at them.

“I thought I saw the Light Fury” he replied, “watching us. Up there” he pointed.

Toothless looked as well, fangs bared. *I not-will let her hurt you, Hiccup.*

“I know, but maybe we shouldn’t...keep going.” He blushed, suddenly shy. 

*You want stop?* his partner asked mildly, stepping back. *Want not-mate?*

He hesitated. “...no, I do, it’s just...what if she comes back and watches us?” 

Toothless snorted. *Let her watch. Maybe then she see you  mine * he growled.

Hiccup shivered; partly from cold, but mostly because he loved it when his mate got so possessive of him. Toothless draped a wing over him. *If you not-want, us not make love* the dragon promised. He also loved this respect. If he hadn’t seen the Light Fury it wouldn’t matter, but now he wasn’t in the mood.

“Yeah...we can still cuddle though.” So they did, and presently he dozed off beneath Toothless’ wing. The Fury purred...then he smelled a familiar but unwanted scent, and his purr became a snarl - but quietly, to not wake Hiccup.

Lumina faded into view, looking around cautiously. *No threat. Just want talk.* 

Toothless stopped growling, but his eyes and pupils remained narrowed. *You almost kill my mate twice* he told her. *You try third time, I kill you* he warned.

She tilted her head, confused. *You have mate? Nightwing drakaina, where?*

*Not drakaina* replied Toothless. He indicated the human under his wing and waited for her to figure it out. When she did, her eyes widened in surprise.

*You mate...with human?!* Lumina demanded. *But it different kind! Wrong!*

He bared his fangs at her again, insulted. *Hiccup not  wrong . We two halves.*

*Not can-be two halves with a human* she denied. *I not understand.*

*I not care* he grunted, and covered his head with his tail-fin in the hopes she’d get the hint and go away. He waited, but when he didn’t hear her leave he peeked again. Sure enough, she was still there, sitting on her haunches. Toothless groaned irritably, rolled his eyes and demanded *What you want?*

Lumina replied *Want-to understand. How you can have human other half?*

Part of him wanted to tell her it was none of her business, but he knew Hiccup wouldn’t want him to. So instead, Toothless began to explain why he loved his human so much, and how they were two halves. He answered her questions, and when he was finished, Lumina declared *I need to think.* Then she left.

_Maybe she not so bad_ Toothless decided, curling up tighter around his mate.


End file.
